tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post8170457623276779164..comments2023-10-30T05:28:11.795-04:00Comments on All Education Matters: Conversations That Matter: Alan Nasser (Part IV)Cryn Johannsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-80000607890550321962011-03-07T14:34:24.932-05:002011-03-07T14:34:24.932-05:00Paul Krugman did a much better job in today's ...Paul Krugman did a much better job in today's op-ed then I did of expressing what I tried to say in my comments to the third installment of this interview:<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/opinion/07krugman.html?hp<br /><br />This is not a simple Marxian case of the 'rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer', it is considerably more complicated but would better be expressed as 'part of the middle class is becoming rich and part is becoming poor, there will soon be a much smaller middle class'. <br /><br />I don't think Nasser is recognizing how this distinction complicates any kind of class-politics response. The emerging economic condition will involve both a large income inequality (not the very rich vs. the rest of us, which is largely irrelevant despite the wailing of progressives to the contrary, but the inequality between the fairly-well-off and the not-well-off which will be the primary source of friction) along with substantial class mobility, both in the form of people raised in the not-well-off class becoming very successful and in the form of well-off children dropping into the not-well-off class.<br /><br />It is at best wishful thinking to imagine a class-based policy being politically successful in this environment. Americans have always been hesitant to vote for punitive measures against another class if they think they or their family members will be part of it in the future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-43966782909175145122011-03-06T12:58:43.132-05:002011-03-06T12:58:43.132-05:00JDpainterguy - why not go to Australia? I mean, if...JDpainterguy - why not go to Australia? I mean, if you didn't like it and it didn't work out, you could always return home. Of course, I don't know your circumstances (perhaps you have an older relative who has health problems). But I left for Korea and it was great. It's nice to be in a country where things aren't being pulled apart. I miss that about Korea. The U.S. is depressing.Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-84811562690629486112011-03-06T12:56:55.125-05:002011-03-06T12:56:55.125-05:00@Anonymous March 6 - I do not follow your logic. S...@Anonymous March 6 - I do not follow your logic. Sorry.Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-38291650463864475632011-03-06T12:00:17.880-05:002011-03-06T12:00:17.880-05:00Those pics are really creepy. Especially the biolo...Those pics are really creepy. Especially the biology classroom. I think I'd be pretty scared walking around there at night and in the dark. It reminds me of pics of Hart Island, in NY, where there is a potters field, and other buildings nearby scattered with neglected remnants of the past.<br /><br />But I'd like to share that on my blog I get traffic from Australia, and commenters have recommended that I leave the US and go there to start a new life, where the economy is better.<br /><br />But the thought of doing that is painful, because my Family is here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-52926356365239600442011-03-06T00:01:54.356-05:002011-03-06T00:01:54.356-05:00Is inflation the solution??? How significant is $1...Is inflation the solution??? How significant is $1 trillion in debt if a dollar is worth a fraction of what it used to be? The national debt is over $13 trillion. So what? The gov't could print that amount tomorrow and pay it off. Inflation would dilute people's savings (less purchasing power), but is there a better alternative? What is Ben Bernanke and the federal reserve doing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com